Behind the Brain
by Dreamyin
Summary: Even the brightest people have their bad moments. Ending up in a magic-less universe, where a deadly game is being played between Kira and a detective L, Hermione must try to find her way back. Will the witch be able to keep out of the game though? HrxL
1. Chapter 1

**Summary**: Harry Potter x Death Note: Hermione has always been seen as one of the brightest witches alive. She soon learns that even the brightest people have their bad moments. Ending up in a magic-less universe, where a deadly game is being played by a serial killer called Kira and a famous detective L, Hermione must try to find her way back to her own world. But, will she be able to prevent her curiosity and morals from letting her enter the game though?

**Beta**: Nope, not yet. So please don't mind the mistakes.

**Note**: the rating might go up to M in the future, though you will be warned if this happens.

No she didn't. Yes, she did. Another story that wouldn't leave my head. That means that I have even more attention/writing time to divide but that comes with being a busy student that just can't help but daydream at her spare time – and during college once and now. Anyway, I enjoyed reading Death Note a lot. Combined with the fact that I love Hermione's character – woman power!- I decided on another crossover. Yes, I enjoy those things a lot.

So please enjoy and tell me what you think alright?

**Behind the Brain**

**Chapter 1: Brand New World**

In a dark abandoned alley, a figure covered by a large dark red cloak lied stretched out on the ground. If one looked closely, there was a nearly hidden signature on the back of the cloth, spelling 'U-S' in an elegant front. Long brown hair flowed over the figure's head. The body was barely moving, except for the slight movement of the upper back. The figure alive and breathing.

The sound of soft gasping breathes gave a slight indication of the state that the stranger was in. An odd carved stick lied not far away from the figure's outstretched hand.

With a soft groan, the twenty-three-year old Unspeakable named Hermione Granger regained consciousness.

The first thing that witch noticed was the splitting headache that was torturing her. She felt like her head was being split open. Growling out and frowning in pain, she barely noticed the tears spilling from her eyes. Her breathing became more ragged as she tried to pull herself together. Opening her eyes slowly, she squinted at the light that she saw at the end of the alley.

'Where am I?' Was the first question coming to her mind.

At least she was alone, she realised, as she didn't hear anyone around her. This caused her to feel relieved and afraid at the same time. After all, though it meant that there were no enemies nearby, there were none of her allies – nor friends – either.

'Magic.' Was the next thought that popped up in her haad, following the pure instincts of a witch that ran deep within her.

Her blurred eyes finally focused on the wand that lied a couple of inches away from her hand. Groaning, she stretched out as far as she could. Her whole body hurt and her hand shook rapidly as she finally managed to touch the smooth surface of her wand. Encouraged by the feeling, she put a little more effort in it and eventually managed to roll the polished stick into her hand.

A warm sensation spread through her and she couldn't help but sigh in relief. It was at the contact with the wand that her head cleared just slightly. As the pain became more tolerable, the Unspeakable realised something was off.

It was like noticing that something was missing. Like the silent humming of electricity around you. The soft humming from a sound or the light sensation of the wind flowing around you. It wasn't visible and you often don't notice its presence, but you take note of 'this something' when it is absent.

No, Hermione decided, it wasn't something that was visibly gone, it was more like a feeling.

'The air is different here.' Her hazy brain managed to provide her.

There was something missing.

And the witch had detected something very important.

There was no magic around her.

The young woman froze as the realisation hit her and forcefully pulled her rapidly rising - chaotic and panicking - emotions to the back of her mind. Recalling all her training – be calm and objective – she tightened her grip on her wand.

'First, own protection and health.' She reminded herself, going through the protocol for ending up in unknown situations.

Whispering a soft spell under her breath, the young woman was relieved to find out that she still had the ability to use magic.

The healing charm helped her a lot - though maybe not as much as the reassurance of being able to defend herself - and with a groan she managed to stand up. Leaning heavily against the stone wall of the alley, she fumbled with her purple beaded handbag that she wore under her red 'Unspeakable' cloak. As her arm dug into the Bottomless bag, she was glad that the beloved object almost never left her side.

The paranoia of being prepared for nearly everything had saved her a lot of worries.

'Second, surroundings.' Her eyes glanced around suspiciously, but she was still alone.

In the meantime she had managed to pull out a potion. Uncorking the flask, she quickly gulped it down. Having experience with the disgusting taste, she managed to repress her expression to a slight frown. She put the empty vile back as she carefully continued to study her surroundings.

'Where am I?'

Memories came flowing back to her as the splitting headache dimmed to a bearable one.

"Shit." She mumbled.

The Veil. She had fallen through the veil. A part of the Unspeakable department had been running tests on the Veil for a while. Last time had been no different. It had been a simple observational task and someone had requested Hermione to cover for her. Her colleague had a wedding of her best friend to attend and Hermione, seeing as June was a very nice woman, had easily agreed.

The Veil had been nagging her thoughts for a while.

Hermione was not directly involved with the investigation, seeing as the witch had been against studying the Veil at first.

After all, she didn't have very good memories of the terrifying object. However, after reading more about it – she was curious about it nonetheless- and hearing stories and different theories of previous researchers, she couldn't help but become slightly more fascinated.

It was a few days later during research, that she had stumbled on a little brown booklet that discussed the theories of alternate aniverses and the connection to the Veil. She had shaken her head at the ideas, put the booklet away and decided that she should get back to more important research, like the time-turners. An urge had made her stop though and after a moment of indecision, she had taken the book with her.

She had refused to acknowledge the tiny voice in the back of her mind that already going over different ways to test the theories.

She had managed to put it out of her mind though and for the next couple of weeks she continued to focus on the time-turners. Then June requested her cover and the tempting mystery surrounding the object had once again returned. She had immediately agreed, her curiosity getting the better of her once more.

She had been easily allowed to cover for her. It was not a job that needed specific skills. It had been a simple job of tracking the magical levels. It was one of the most basic task that one could get.

The spells that they were using to test the Veil would be done by others, so there was no objection of her helping out.

Hermione was still filled with disbelief of what had happened. She could still clearly remember the casual atmosphere back then and a friend within the Unspeakable greeting her with a smile.

"_Finally giving in to your curiosity Ruby?" The man teased her as she followed after him._

_Rolling her eyes, Hermione didn't answer his question. Instead she went straight to business. "Funny Onyx, just tell me what you want me to do."_

"_Just keep track of the magic and record the information Ruby." He said, using her code name once more._

Of course, it proved to be this little task that had indirectly brought her here. The one tiny danger of tracking magic was that it was more specific when one got closer to it. So, Hermione, being the person she was, had not minded to do so – as long as she kept a relative safe distance.

Even though she stood closest to the object, a couple of other unspeakable had stood near her, having to run their own spells. They could catch her if it was necessary. So, all in all, it wasn't dangerous at all.

Of course, Fate decided to prove her wrong.

One moment Hermione had been minding her own business, staring at the colors that her magic presented her and the next thing she knew was that there was a movement right next to her.

_There was a loud cry as a spell was shot into the Veil. It had barely passed her shoulder, which immediately snapped her attention away from her task. The small group of Unspeakable next to her turned in shock to the traitor in their mids – a relative new Unspeakable that had shown some obsession with the Veil before but never like this – and then the chaos started. Flinging themselves towards the man who had thrown the curse, the team started battling right in front of the Veil, their magic rising._

"_You can't mess with the Gate of Death!" The traitor proclaimed, eyes shining. "I will make sure no one ever will!"_

_Hermione, standing away from the fight and closest to the Veil, stared with wide eyes as her magic showed her that the Veil's magic was fluctuating after the Veil had been struck, before it was actually starting to suck up the energy surrounding it._

_Breath had left her as she realised what was going to happen. It was creating a magical black hole of some sorts. _

_"Back away from the Veil!" She exclaimed to the others, as they finally apprehended the wizard._

_She charged forward in an attempt to save herself, but it was useless. _

_A moment later, she felt herself being sucked into the direction of the Veil. _

_"Accio!" was immediately being called out by multiple people, all trained to act quickly. _

_For a moment it held, giving the team some hope, but the witch knew that the magic would be sucked away within seconds. In a last desparete attempts, a cloak was tranfigurated into a rope for her to hold on to, but the magic surrounded her reversed the spell within moments, leaving her with nothing to grasp on but thin threads._

'_I won't make this without putting others in danger.' She realised and suddenly felt very calm. 'Well, I guess this might be the end then."_

_Her eyes met Onyx's dark ones as she struggled to walk away from the Veil. She was not going to make it, she knew, but she still had things to say._

"_Stop Onyx, don't come closer!" She stopped him from running forward to grab her. He stood there, obviously conflicted by the situation before him. The witch was glad that someone grabbed his shoulder to prevent him from trying once more._

"_Tell Ron and Harry and my parents, and everyone else that I love them Onyx!" She continued to yell to the older man._

"_I will!" He yelled back to her as he watched her with grave eyes. _

_"I will try to find my way back." She continued and her calculative mind gave her a hint of inspiration. Searching in an inner pocket of her cloak, she pulled out a magical gem that could storage a lot of magic – she had been prepared to use it for her experiment that she had planned to do later today – and charged it with as much magic as she could._

_She felt herself weaken tremendously and her breathing became more ragged as she struggled against the flow._

"_Keep this here and keep it safe!" She cried out, as she threw it at him with all her might. The magical gem shone brightly as she continued to crawl away from the Veil with all her might to buy her some time to act upon her last plan, she quickly started chanting in an unknown language._

_She was going to make sure the hole would close after her._

_One of the eldest in the team's eyes widened, recognising the spell. "No Ruby!"_

_But he was too late as suddenly all the magic swirled around her, saving them from harm and then abrubtly pulled her into the Veil and disappeared along with her._

_The last sensation she remembered were the icy wisps of the Veil caressed her skin before she was swirled, spun, distorted - similar to apparition, but so much worse – twirled, spiralled, twisted, sucked into a loop of colors and energy._

'Oh Merlin...'

The memories and the shock of being transportated to this place suddenly caught up to the witch and Hermione bowed forwards as she lost the meagre lunch that she had had before the meeting. Throwing up once more, she shakily patted her hair to make sure that it was still securely put in a pony-tail. Acid burned her tongue ever so slightly and she spit out the horrible taste.

Pulling herself together once more, she righted herself. She decided against using her magic to clean her mouth, even though she really wanted to.

'Who knows how long my magic might take to recharge in this place.' She thought, suddenly feeling very vulnerable with the lack of magic surrounding her. The only thing that calmed her slightly was the odd sensation in her chest, located at her magical core. It was a slight magical tugging sensation, as if she was connected to something.

A nearly invisible smile cracked on her face. It seemed that at least her plan had worked. Wherever she was, she managed to create a life-line of magic that was connected to the magical gem that she had left behind.

'Though how long will it keep up?' A more pessimistic part of her brain questioned her as she stumbled down the alley to study the place that she had ended up.

'At least, I'm not dead...' She reminded herself of far worse situations that involved the Veil.

Wand ready, she peaked around the corner, before her eyes widened in recognition.

She was in Tokyo?

'So I'm still in my own world?' Her eyes feverishly took in the similarities to the world that she called her own. Deciding that she was safe for now, she slipped up her hood and mingled with the people walking down the street.

The witch didn't want to put away her cloak, feeling vulnerable without it. Luckily, she managed to look like someone with an 'unique' style that surprisingly didn't get as many looks as she thought it would. The few rolling eyes and stares that she caught were easily ignored and she kept on the lookout for more information.

'I don't know enough Japanese.' She silently cursed herself, determined to look into it. 'Maybe I should use that translation spell later on.'

As her brain was catching up to her current situation, her eyes were drawn on one of the screens that were showing some kind of news reportage. Being a muggle-born, Hermione always tried to keep up with the basic news every day. If she couldn't, her mother would make sure that she was up to date. Ever since the final Battle, she had wanted to keep up with the muggle-world, as it was part of her identity.

She halted her steps as she finally understood a few things.

One, the date on the screen did not correspond with her own. It was two years earlier than her own time-frame.

Second, she had never heard about this Misa-Misa figure before. She might not be into that stuff, but she should have heard the name at least once right?

Third, she had no clue who this Kira was that people kept whispering around. Another name she should have noticed if the "world wide news" was of any indication.

Fourth, she couldn't help but be suddenly be reminded of a certain little brown booklet that told her about the 'alternative universe' at the other end of the 'Veil'.

Nerves finally her. She quickly grabbed the booklet from her bag and started flipping through it at a hectic speed. Her eyes scanned over the words as she ignored the rush of the people around her, bumping into her and complaining about tourists.

Instead, her eyes were stuck on the book. Eventually, her eyes became more lost. With a final shocked gasping breathe, her arms fell limp down at her sides, her hands still clutching the book.

There was no magic around her - Tokyo of all places should have loads of it. The dates and news objects were different. The Veil.

Looking up into the sky, Hermione could only borrow her friend's two well-known words to describe the situation that she was currently in.

"Bloody hell." She whispered.

She was in another universe.

**~End Chapter ~**

A 'yay' or a 'no way'?

I would appreciate it very much if you decided to share your thoughts and if not, well too bad.

Hopefully till next time!

~Dreamyin


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary**: Harry Potter x Death Note: Hermione has always been seen as one of the brightest witches alive. She soon learns that even the brightest people have their bad moments. Ending up in a magic-less universe, where a deadly game is being played by a serial killer called Kira and a famous detective L, Hermione must try to find her way back to her own world. But, will she be able to prevent her curiosity and morals from letting her enter the game though?

**Beta**: Not yet, so please don't mind my mistakes.

Well I got some yays directed at me, so I see that as a worthy investment. Hopefully this will make people more enthusiastic.

Enjoy!

**Chapter 2: Bad Luck**

After Hermione had decided that, yes, she had probably ended up in another universe and that she should find her way home as soon as possible – her magical senses were just screaming at her that she was in a magic-less world – she started to make a plan.

The witch stubbornly kept her emotions in check. She would be subjective later! She decided as she tried to swallow the lump in her throat.

Step one, get the right money.

Having mingled with the people once more, but now without the focussed mind-set of finding out where she was, Hermione had been momentarily overwhelmed by the amount of people that walked around as she had apparently arrived in the busy centre of Tokyo.

So she promptly decided that the 'step two' was to get away from the crowds. They were making her antsy.

Ever since she had become a 'Witch Idol' she – and her best friends – had grown a dislike for such big crowds. The chaos that would erupt, the huge amount of people that wanted to move towards her, the screaming, the yelling, the begging, the crying… there had been a point that it had been too much.

So, call it bad experiences if you will.

Unfortunately, she had absolutely no clue where to go, which meant that she had to ask for directions to a park of some sort. She needed some space, thank you very much.

Maybe she could find a proper exchange banks – hopefully her money was valid - and then park somewhere.

Luckily for the young woman, the crowd started thinning once she walked away from the centre. With a frown, she looked up at the sky, noting that it was getting dark. Maybe she could find some abandoned house for the night instead.

It would certainly be a lot cheaper and it wasn't like she wouldn't be able to handle it after the Horcrux Hunting. She would have camped out, but the tent needed to be enlarged by magic, so that wasn't possible.

The downside of the thinning crowd, Hermione found out, was that her cloak eventually started to stand out. Her paranoia became more pronounced, she needed to blend in more, which eventually forced her to switch her cloak with a dark blue hoodie that she found in her bottomless bag.

Unfortunately, it was not water resistant and she couldn't use magic to make sure it was. Even if she had, it might have been suspicious for her to walk through the rain while staying completely dry. The reactions would surely be amusing, but it wasn't an option.

"Luckily" she mumbled "-it isn't raining."

She was sure that she had accidently hexed herself, when it started pouring from the clouded sky a minute later. She was completely soaked within five.

"Aw come on!"

It was as if the British weather had followed her, she thought, glowering. Her eyes twitched in annoyance and narrowed her eyes as water glided down her forehead.

Her luck was definitely lacking today. As Hermione continued to walk down the busy and crowded streets, the wind picked up around her, and it started pouring even harder than before. It was as if it was affected by her bad mood. That, or it was simply mocking her.

"I wonder if this is how Harry feels sometimes." The witch grumbled under her breath as she strolled down the streets, drenched to the bone.

The sooner she could find some place to exchange her money the better.

'Now who can ask to help me?' She wondered, steeling her nerves for a while longer. There certainly were enough people around her.

At first, some the busy citizens weren't particularly helpful.

"Excuse me, could you ple-" The man walked away from her, plainly ignoring her.

"I'm sorry, can I ask-" The young woman shied away from her foreign language, sending her an apologising look as she passed her.

Hermione sighed. She had to admit that she didn't look very friendly, especially with the sour look on her face. Not to mention that she was completely soaked to the bone while wearing a hoodie that was partially hiding most of her face. That probably didn't look very encouraging to talk to her.

At one point, a teenager managed to give her some quick directions in broken english, before quickly walking away again. Hermione had copied the bow awkwardly and walked the opposite direction. Everyone looked busy on this time of day and the people clearly were not comfortable with speaking english with a stranger like her when they could go to their warm and cosy homes.

She pressed her lips firmly together as a wave of homesickness hit her.

It was that moment when luck decided to help her – though it certainly didn't look like it, because it wasn't a pleasant experience.

Hemione had simply been minding her own sucky business, waiting at the cross-walk in front of the crowd that formed behind her. Staring at the red light, she was caught off guard when there was a commotion behind her and she was abruptly pushed forward as someone bumped into her.

The light was still red.

Her eyes widened and the witch panicked as her eyes noticed the incoming – expensive looking – black car. Knowing that she couldn't change her momentum into the opposite direction anymore, she managed to take advantage of her reflex to regain her balance.

The moment her other leg touched the ground, the witch pushed herself off as fast as she could. She jumped as high as possible up to evade the front of the car – which would have the most impact - while the sudden escalation of stress within her body giving her an extra boost.

Luckily the car reacted on time, giving her two extra seconds to prepare, while decreasing the force with which he hit her. Like she had calculated, Hermione landed on the hood of the car. With reflexes that were trained into her by the Unspeakables and her own experiences, she twisted herself into a roll. Rolling partly over the roof of the car, she ended up on the other side of the car.

The rolling caused her to lose her focus though – most likely a strong side effect from her journey to this place not even an hour ago – and she landed painfully on the ground. With wide eyes, her head shot up to make sure that she was safe. All the cars had stopped though. The moment she realised that there was no danger, she puked almost immediately.

'Great. Am I going to be motion sick now for almost everything?'

It didn't take long before people came running towards her. The door of the car opened quickly and an old man crouched down next to her.

Hermione was busy trying to get her head to stop spinning and was only vaguely aware said something in Japanese. She didn't react to him and pushed herself up, twitching away from the hand that supported her gently. "Let me go." She said, feeling unwell.

Hermione was a young woman that she could be very social - at least when she wasn't burying herself in books. She liked spending time with her friends, hugging those close to her, and making people around her happy. Still there were a few things that she had started to form a – sometimes strong - disliking to.

One, killing and war in general. Two, being caught unprepared. Three, heights. Four, crowds. Five, being touched out of nowhere or by strangers. Six, close proximity with people that she didn't know or like. There were a few more, but these were the most important. A few had been developed during or after the war, others were simply part of her personality – like heights.

So adding up the crowd that was being formed around her, the tight proximity of the people, being touched after having been completely disorientated and being in this helpless situation in general, Hermione couldn't take it anymore.

"Calm down Miss. I'm a doctor." The man suddenly said to her in English with a British accent. She wasn't focusing on him though.

Normally she would have grabbed this opportunity to get some proper help with two hands, but she was currently not in the right state of mind. Her flight senses were screaming at her, so she plainly ignored the man and decided that she had to get away from this place.

With a quick push, Hermione pulled herself up to her feet. She accidently bumped into the man that was trying to stop her, causing him to lose his balance. She vaguely mumbled an apology, and then stumbled away, forcefully pushing herself through the crowd.

"Miss!" The man called out after her, but he was too late.

Some people tried to stop her, but she was experienced with twisting her arms out of someone's grasp and managed to get away.

A couple of blocks away, she hid in an alley. As she took shelter under an stone arch of a backdoor, she tried to calm her heavy breathing that she got from having ran down the street. Her eyes were wide and alert as she waited for someone to catch up to her, but nobody came. Relaxing somewhat, Hermione wiped her hand across her temple and sighed when she saw the blood on her hand. She checked her cheek as well, noting the blood was streaming down her face.

"Shit."

When she finally got back out of the alley half an hour later, she was limping. It was only after the adrenaline had left her that she had noticed that her foot hurt pretty bad. She must have hit the ground wrong. She had wrapped a bandage around her head to stop the bleeding, as she could not take another potion. She had already taken the maximum dose for the day and what was left in her bloodstream would help her.

"Alright, let's get away from here." She mumbled, pulling the hood of the hoodie back over her head.

Screw the money, she thought, she would find a place to crash for the time being and then exchange her money tomorrow.

~Couple of hours later~

Hermione Granger was not called one of the brightest witches for nothing. Her intelligence was ranked as one of the highest in the Wizarding World. Her parents had even been prepared to put her into a special school for gifted children. Though, a visit from a certain Minerva McGonagall, in which she had turned their coffee table into a dog, had convinced the young Hermione that there was another future for her.

The idea of exploring the Wizarding World had fascinated her enormously. The secrets that she could solve. The mysteries that she could unravel. The law of physics that she could break.

Of course, she soon learned that it wasn't all 'smiles and sunshine'– being bullied, hunted down by a couple of killers and helping a certain stubborn and reckless Boy-Who-Lived stay alive for one. Still, even though she had never expected this rather dangerous future, Hermione had never regretted her decision of joining Hogwarts.

The point is, Hermione is someone that keeps going, no matter which situation she ends up in.

No matter that she had fallen through the Veil, didn't have anybody to rely on, got hit by a car, sprained her ankle pretty bad, was suffering from a huge headache – possibly even a concussion – and was currently lost somewhere in Tokyo without being able to speak proper Japanese. Not even to mention the writing.

She kept going.

That doesn't mean that she can't complain for once in a while though.

'How did I get in this situation again?' The thought popped up out of nowhere, before the 'Golden Witch' chiding herself for whining. She had gotten far worse thrown at her before, so she would not start complaining. Determined, she strode on, stubbornly ignoring the limps the best she could.

She was glad that her money had proved to be valid though.

In the view hours that she had been here, she had managed to dig up a small part of of the Muggle money that she carried around and exchanged it for the Japanese currency. It had been such a relief to see that her money was accepted. It wasn't enough to survive for a very long time with this money alone, but she was proud to say that her 'Emergency stash' – with a stubborn donation from a certain Potter – was nothing to laugh at.

She had made sure to exchange only a part of it, in order to prevent herself from standing out again. She would keep exchanging money everyday at a different office in order to get enough money.

If she spent the money very carefully, she should be able to get herself a small cheap apartment.

'If necessary, I could sell some gold or find a job.'

Using Wizard money to pay Muggles was actually prohibited. 'Though if this is a magic-less world, that might be the best way to go.' She thought. She had learned that rule-breaking was necessary sometimes a long time ago.

She would look into it later, she decided as she fumbled with the book in her hand.

The people at the foreign exchange bank that she had met had been pretty helpful. Now armed with a small booklet with tourist information about Tokyo, Hermione was determined to find a place to crash. At least, after finding one that was cheap enough.

She would look for an apartment tomorrow.

After all, a hotel would not be efficient enough. She wouldn't be able to stay there for a long period of time and the witch knew that it was highly unlikely that she would be able to get back within a couple of months. In fact, she thought nervously, it could take years.

She would have to calculate everything. She would have to experiment a lot. More important, she would have to wait until she had enough magic to provide her even a experiment for a trip through the veil, let alone the real trip itself. She shuddered as she remembered the amount of chakra that had been swirling around her before she had fallen through.

Luckily, she found more gems in her bag that could act as a storage of her magic.

'But to charge all of them...' Hermione sighed unhappily, moving a hand through her wet hair. 'I will have to see how fast my magic returns. Maybe I should start meditating more.'

Wary from the rain, cold and tired, Hermione's eyes caught some shops in the distance. It was a street filled by small shops, of which most were closing down. She hurried towards a store that seemed to be a bakery of some sort, looking forward to get out of the rain. She needed a break.

'Maybe they know someplace nearby where I can stay?'

As she ducked inside the story, she smiled harmlessly at the older woman that greeted her politely. She felt inclined to pull back her hoodie. To make sure that she wouldn't stand out too much, she had pulled off the bandage around her forehead just before she entered and moved her hair in a way that would hide most of the wound.

She probably seemed less hostile that way.

The elderly woman seemed to be taken back by her slightly wary appearance, but smiled back nonetheless. She asked her something, but Hermione shook her head. "Gomen, do you speak English?" She pleaded, watching the woman frown for a moment before she shook her head.

"Very little." The woman answered. She pointed at the cakes in front of her. "Buy?"

Hermione glanced over. She had to admit that it all did look delicious.

"Err... Gomen." Hermione apologised. "Tea?" She asked instead hopefully. She felt like she was freezing and some tea would be wonderful.

"Rain." She pointed outside. "Where sit?" She asked, before pointing to her wet attire. She had been brought up to be polite and Hermione didn't want to make all the furniture wet.

Rubbing her cold hands together as she waited for the woman's answer. If she was sent away, she would simply have to continue her searching trip. Her empty stomach started complaining loudly though and Hermione tried to ignore the delicious treats that were displayed behind glass.

She blushed slightly as the woman heard her growling stomach.

"Soup?"

~Hana~

The very young woman in front of her seemed to have a bad day.

The elderly woman, called Hana, thought about it for a moment. At this moment of the day it was very quiet, so it shouldn't be much of a problem. Besides, the girl looked like a sweet girl. Quite pretty, though her current appearance would make some people think otherwise, but she had kind eyes. She probably had had better days, judging from her appearance.

Poor thing.

Walking around the counter, Hana made a shooing motion for her towards an empty table close to the counter. It would be the best place for her to rest for a while, plus Hana would be able to keep an eye on her. She looked awfully pale.

The girl shot her a grateful smile, which made her feel a little better about the decision. Maybe she would bring the girl some tea and soup on the house as well. She wondered what had happened to her. Maybe if her grandson came by today, she might ask him to translate for her.

Her eyes lighted up as the foreign girl bowed politely to her. A tourist with manners, how lovely.

"Ah, Arigatou goz-" The girl frowned as she seemed to try to remember the ending.

"-Gozimasu." The elder woman finished for her with a smile, appreciating the effort.

"Hai! Arigatou Gozimasu."

"Dou itashimashite." Hana thought for a moment before she added. "You are welcome." The accent was way off, but the girl smiled nonetheless.

Hana put a hand on her chest. "Hana." She stated and watched as the girl copied her. "Ruby."

'What an unusual name' Hana thought, but it somehow seemed to fit the girl.

As she came back with the tea and some soup, the girl made looked into her odd bag to pay her, but she waved her off.

"You are very kind."

Hana merely smiled and waved her hand to tell her to start eating.

~Hermione~

Hermione gratefully dug into her warm meal.

'I should pay her back somehow.' The girl pondered.

She didn't have a clue what to do though. Maybe she could help her clean? Hana didn't look like a woman that would allow that though. Actually she reminded the girl of Molly.

'No she wouldn't let me help her out.' Hermione decided. 'Though maybe I can help her on a later date.'

The stranded witch finished the soup with a content sigh. Putting her hands around the warm cup of tea, she allowed herself to space out for a moment. She actually enjoyed the peace that she felt. It were moments like these that would be normally interrupted by other wizards, fans, reporters, and the like.

A bell alerted her that someone entered the shop and she absently took in the appearance of the elder white-haired gentleman that closed the door behind him. He wore an expensive suit, but instead of coming across as intimidating, he simply looked like a polite individual.

As she watched him shake off the rain from the umbrella that he carried, her senses just screamed 'British' at her. Hermione met his eyes for a moment and was surprised by the look he sent her.

She didn't look that bad right? She wondered as she moved her hair to cover her wound a little more carefully.

The man's attention was drawn to Hana a second later, greeting him in a way that gave her the impression that she was familiar with the man. After the two walked for a while, Hana walked away, probably to get the man's order ready.

The man looked around the small bakery, taking note of four other people lounging there – though they were far too busy to take note of him. Then his eyes glanced back to her and she smiled politely at him. Her smile faltered ever so slightly when he frowned for a second, but returned when smiled back at her.

Hermione was taken by surprise when he suddenly spoke to her. "Are you feeling well?"

For a moment she wasn't sure what to do. Even though she had been able to exchange her money, there was still a lot that made it difficult for her to get around. He was obviously experienced with Japan, so he probably things that could help her.

Still, she felt reluctant for some reason.

"I'm alright, sir. Thank you for asking."

"Are you sure?" He probed ever so slightly, making Hermione wonder if she was still bleeding somewhere. Hana had not mentioned anything before.

"I'm just a little… lost." She allowed to slip, staring down at her tea. "I ended up her quite abruptly and wasn't very prepared."

She was playing dumb, she knew that, but at least she was telling the truth. The truth lasts the longest, so as long as she remained vague, her story would remain the same every time. She had enough practise with censoring her life as a witch to Muggles -

"How so?"

- though it was always troublesome when people started asking for details.

The man had walked towards her. Remaining a few steps away so that the distance was still polite, but clearly and seemingly genuinely interested to help her out.

"I would rather not talk about it." She told him, meeting his grandfatherly eyes that reminded her of her own family and even a tiny bit of Dumbledore.

She refused to acknowledge the tears that were starting to build up behind her eyes. The man, though Hermione wasn't sure whether he noticed the tears, seemed to sense her mood and gestured to the second chair at the table.

"Would you mind if I sit down?"

And there Hermione had thought for a moment that she would have a moment to herself.

**~End Chapter~**

Will she let him? Will she be able to say no to such a grandfather-ly presence?

Hope you enjoyed!

~Dreamyin


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary**: Harry Potter x Death Note: Hermione has always been seen as one of the brightest witches alive. She soon learns that even the brightest people have their bad moments. Ending up in a magic-less universe, where a deadly game is being played by a serial killer called Kira and a famous detective L, Hermione must try to find her way back to her own world. But, will she be able to prevent her curiosity and morals from letting her enter the game though?

**Beta**: Not yet, so please don't mind my mistakes. If you are interested in helping out, please let me know?

Hi everyone! Thank you very much for the kind reviews. I love all of them and they really encourage me to write some more! It took me a while to figure out how to get the 'flow' right in this chapter. After rewriting it about two times, I'm pretty satisfied.

In the meantime please let me know what you think!

**Chapter 3: Breaking Down**

"Would you mind if I sit down?"

Hermione met the elderly man's questioning eyes with a questioning expression of her own, but didn't answer.

'Should I?' She pondered as she met his warm grandfatherly eyes.

Hermione was actually caught off guard by the unexpected request. The witch had learned to be wary of people who were interested in her for no apparent reason – why was he? - which caused a part of her brain to protest with paranoia.

Another side of her brain protested as well though. It would only be polite – the man certainly showed that he was – and she needed help. Sure, she had really enjoyed the moment of peace she had been having, but looking at the man in front of her, she couldn't help but notice this warm aura, this gentleness around her that she might need right now.

Still, the questions that he might ask could be problematic. Not to mention the sudden interest in her that was just rubbing her paranoid brain the wrong way. The woman mentally groaned at the conflict that was forming in her mind.

Damn it.

There was only one solution to figure out why he was talking to her, but besides the fact that it went against her morals to use it unless it was actually necessary, she wasn't willing to sacrifice any magic if she could help it. The latter was actually more an excuse that she kept telling herself though.

'Legilimens' did not take a lot of magic. At least not when it involved Muggles and when the wizard or witch had been trained to use it – which she had been.

No, for some unexplainable reason Hermione was suddenly afraid that she would stumble upon things that she would get her in trouble. Things that she wouldn't be able to ignore. There was just something behind those gentle eyes that reminded her too much of Dumbledore, a great man with so many – darker - secrets.

The witch tried to hide how uncomfortable the look in his eyes made her, since she already felt her curiosity peaking by merely pondering about it.

She could be very similar to Harry when it came to reckless curiosity - she _was_ a Gryffindor after all. Simply remembering the time that she had made that Polyjuice potion and turned into a cat was enough pro-

The man coughed politely, letting her know that she had been weighing her options a little too long.

'My mind is wandering…' Shaking her head, she gave him apologetic smile. 'I might have hit the ground harder than I previously thought.' Hermione thought, not having noticed that so much time had passed.

Fine, she would be polite. He hadn't actually done anything yet and she needed help more than a peaceful moment for herself.

"I'm sorry, I must have spaced out there for a moment." She apologised, taking note of the worried frown that appeared on the man's face. "Go ahead, sir." She politely waved her hand to let him sit down.

She automatically studied him as she watched him sit down, noticing that he angled his chair so that he wasn't completely in front of her, nor facing her directly.

'A psychological move.' She recognised with a mental smile. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she took in his appearance. Now that she started focusing on him, he suddenly seemed more familiar. Had she seen him somewhere before?

"My name is Walter Atari." He said, holding out his hand. She frowned when she caught an odd movement of the opposite shoulder. She suddenly remembered a book that she had studied carefully once. In it, she had read somewhere that it could indicate that someone was lying. She quickly brushed it off though, seeing as the study was not completely evidence based.

Besides, she would be a hypocrite if she was going to call him out on a potential lie when she was going to tell her own.

She made sure to keep the smile on her face as she shook it. "Ruby." She simply told him, forgoing a last name. 'Ronaldson.' Her mind whispered to her and she mentally nodded absently, deciding that she would use it if it came to it.

She didn't have to though, as the white-haired man only gave her an odd look, but didn't push her. She couldn't help but appreciate the gesture.

"I must admit that I don't meet Britain tourists often." Walter started with a warm smile, clearly trying to get their conversation on a more comfortable topic.

She was silent for a moment before she conceded. "I'm not exactly a tourist. I'm looking for an apartment, but the day didn't go as planned."

"You don't have a place to stay tonight?" She could see some calculations being made in his eyes, which made her twitch in apprehension.

"I will find one." She assured him, to with Walter merely hummed. "Isn't it a little too late for that?" He asked, glancing to the darkening sky.

Hermione wasn't sure what the man was thinking, but she didn't comment on it as he easily changed the topic.

"Can I help you with finding one somehow? I assume that you don't speak Japanese." He offered.

Hermione was glad for the offer, but bristled slightly at the assumption. Even though the man was right. She wondered how he could have concluded that.

"A little." She defended herself. "How did you know?"

"Ah, I apologise. Hana told me."

Hermione glanced towards the woman standing behind the counter. She was clearly watching them with interest and repressed a long sigh. 'So she wanted him to talk to me?'

"She didn't."

"How-?" She stopped, narrowing her eyes at him. He was not a wizard, she was sure.

"I guessed. She didn't tell me to talk to you, if that is what you were wondering. Though I must admit that she gave me some hints that you could probably use some company." The grandfatherly man chuckled, smiling harmlessly at her.

The fact that Hana had encouraged him to offer some company while he waited, relaxed Hermione somewhat. Slowly but surely, she started to realise that she didn't need to act like she was in a dangerous situation. There was clearly no war here. Nobody knew who she was. She would just have to be careful with what she told everyone, but she could relax.

'Don't be such a veteran.' She reminded herself, echoing the words that she had told Harry many times. She could use some of her own advice.

Being the old gentleman that he was, Walter offered her more tea and gave her large his jacket to warm her – which she grudgingly accepted since he refused to take no for answer - as they waited for Walter's delivery to be prepared. The witch had to admit that the jacket was comfortable and the tea warmed up her body even more.

After a few minutes of polite conversation, Hermione found that she was slowly starting to relax in the man's presence, which actually caused her to ramble about a random topic - the weather today - ever so slightly.

She usually this did when she was stressed and especially now; she was under a lot of stress. Normally she had one of her friends who would provide her with an outlet, but since they were absent and unavailable, she found herself using the opportunity that she had.

Her rambling didn't stop Hermione from noticing, with amusement, that Walter was slowly trying to redirect the conversation in a way so that they could discuss her situation. After some pondering, Hermione decided to let him, seeing as she would need his help anyway.

"So, tell me what happened." Walter asked, to which Hermione made sure to look slightly surprised.

'Let's start the helpless woman stranded in Tokyo route.' She thought with a mental smirk.

Harry Potter was not the only one that had a little bit of a Slytherin streak in him.

Hesitating for a moment, she told her tale – which was the first thing that she could come up with. "I had this digital friend on internet that I had talked to a lot and I wanted to surprise him." She started, making sure to keep looking down at her hands to show how 'ashamed' she was off herself.

She momentarily winched at the pathetic excuse that had come out of her mouth. 'Seriously? A digital friend? How pathetic does that sound?'

She glanced at gentleman listening to her story and caught a flash of what she thought was flash of concern, pity and disbelief - that most likely had to do with image of a 'too trusting youth' she currently conveyed.

She didn't like lying, but she had been taught how and if she felt like it was necessary, she was good at it.

However, as it was difficult to explain that she had 'appeared out of another universe' she continued with her imaginary life story, about that she had wanted to surprise this digital friend for his birthday but it seemed the friend she had gotten to know had only been one big lie.

As she told her 'tale', making sure not to pause too long when she thought up new parts of her life, she quickly filing away the lies that she was starting. She might need the information in the future.

"-so it seems that he didn't live here at all. So there I was stranded in Tokyo of all places and it started raining. I'm not comfortable with large crowds so I decided that I could better try somewhere else, but-" She decided that telling the man that she had been hit by a car was not the best option – "something happened that made me unable to properly find a place to stay. Actually, I was wondering if you could possibly help me out, sir? You see, as you said my Japanese…" She drawled off, biting her lip. "Everything is just going wrong. I was finally able to exchange my money but I have no- " Only halfway she started to notice that she was actually feeling slightly panicked.

"Calm down young lady."

Her brain – which was great with recalling certain memories – alerted her that the man in front of her was indeed very familiar. It wasn't because she might have seen him on TV like she had expected. No, she had met him in this _alternative dimension_.

"_Calm down. I'm a doctor."_

Her mouth snapped shut and she stared at him with wide eyes. "You are-"

The man seemed to notice that she had suddenly recognised him. He gave her another disarming smile, but this time Hermione was too suspicious for it to work properly.

"Ah, so you do recognise me. I must admit that I'm surprised that I met you again, but I am glad. I was quite worried. You have taken quite a hit." His eyes focused on the side of her forehead, where she had been bleeding. She had been trying to hide it with her hair before, but he seemed to have picked it up nonetheless.

"You also have spaced out a couple of times during the conversation." Hermione's eyes widened in surprise.

"I have?"

The man's eyes turned more serious and worried this time. "Yes. You haven't noticed?"

"No." Hermione muttered, wonder evident in her voice. She had thought that the potion would at least have taken care of her head by now. She hadn't felt any painful headache for the last hour, just a numb thudding that she had been able to ignore. Sure, her mind had wandered more than usually, but that was just because she was constantly thinking about her current situation.

Right?

'Please don't let me have a concussion.' She begged mentally with a groan.

"It would be best if it were looked at." The man admitted, snapping her attention back to him.

The Unspeakable suddenly felt nervous. There was no way that she could go to a hospital. She didn't have a file. She didn't even have an identity here. They would become suspicious. She might even mess up the sensitive equipment with her magic. What if it accidently lashed out? No there were too many negative outcomes, she decided. Maybe she should run again.

"Please calm down Miss. I'm not going to force you to do anything." Walter tried to shush her, but it only made her more wary.

"How did you know?"

"Your eyes are very expressive."

That calmed her down.

In a way, such a comment could be taken the wrong way, but Hermione knew that the man was merely stating a fact. Her friends joked that she was an 'open book' when one knew what to look for – like her friends - and when she wasn't acting. Hermione chided herself from letting her slip up again, but the man kept catching her of guard.

"Many people wouldn't say so."

The man just smiled. The witch swore that she spotted a Dumbledore-like amused twinkle in his eye.

"I must say that I have become quite good at reading people's expressions as well."

Hermione mentally concluded that with the tone that he used, there was a personal joke behind that statement.

She shivered, as she pushed the jacket off her shoulders in an attempt to give it back. "Look, thank you for everything but I'm fine. Thank you for your company but-"

She tensed slightly when he put a hand on her arm and glanced at the serious look on the man's face. She suddenly felt like her father or grandfather was chiding her.

"Look Miss, I'm not here to force you into anything, but I feel responsible for your well-being. You _should_ be in a hospital, or at least somewhere comfortable so you can rest."

"I'm fine here." She bit out stubbornly, staring at a painting of a Sakura tree that hung on the wall.

It was a nice painting, she noted. The drawing was done very delicately. A few sakura blossoms were blown through the air, reminding her much of a whirlwind that was surrounding the tree. The light blue sky behind the tree was just a few shades darker than the fluffy clouds that the painter had drawn, making her wonder if-

"Ruby." Hermione was snapped out of her thoughts once more.

'Maybe I have really hit my head harder than I thought.' She thought worriedly, glancing at the worried eyes of the man in front of her.

Could she trust him though? He said that he was a doctor but even that could be nothing but a lie. She was in a very defensive situation right now. She could not afford someone to dig into her history. She could not afford to make mistakes. She was well aware that not only the magical world had its dark side. Murderers, rapists and frauds, they were all over the world and she was currently alone.

There was no one here to watch her back.

Hermione suddenly felt restless. The whole situation was slowly but surely getting to her, and not being able to trust the man that seemed so polite seemed to make it even worse. With a heavy heart, she decided that she had only one way to find out.

She would probably regret it later, she was sure, but for now she needed someone to look out for her.

Staring the man in the eyes, she softly whispered "Legilimens' under her breath, urging her magic to enter the man's mind. She felt a familiar surge forward and was suddenly surrounded by emotions and small bits of information that was not hers. Entering a brain was always very chaotic, but the found that this brain was pretty calm and organised, must like the impression the man had given her. It made it easier for her to orientate herself.

Carefully weaving through the memories, she made sure only to interact with general information, nothing personal. It didn't take long before she realised was that the man had lied about his name. She frowned, wondering if there were more things that the man lied about.

Knowing that there was only so much time that she had, the witch quickly went through the general intentions that he had, prying for some morals that he stuck to – helping people, aiding society – and eventually concluded that he was trustworthy. She turned away, intending to leave as quickly as possible when her eye spotted something in the corner of her eye.

A huge letter 'L'.

Whatever memories were 'categorised' here, judging from the amount of memories, it played a major role in the man's life.

She gritted her teeth as her curiosity was peaked. Barely by staring at it the way she was, prodding it with her mind was already giving her some general information about this so called L. It was the letter that they had spoken about on TV. He was a detective hunting down 'Kira', a serial killer that could kill people with a heart attack by merely knowing someone's face and name- wait what?

That 'Kira' surely did sound magical to her. She felt the urge to know more increase to a dangerous level and she barely managed to keep herself from interacting with the memory. It was unsafe for muggles to have so many memories interacted with. She didn't want to do that to the man that was trustworthy and trying to help her.

Hermione shut her eyes, knowing that she was close to breaking the promise that she had made to herself after _that_ _incident_.

She quickly steeled herself and retreated as fast as she could. She was going to stick to her own morals. She had promised that she would.

However, she couldn't help but wonder. 'What does Walter have to do with L?'

"Ruby? I really think that you need some help." Walter told her sternly as she blinked at him, once more back to reality.

"Fine, but no hospital." She protested, rubbing her forehead.

That had been more taxing on her than she had expected.

"Would you mind if I were to keep an eye on you then?" Walter questioned very carefully, clearly expecting her to be uncomfortable with the offer.

"Sure." She muttered absently, rubbing her temples this time. The headache was back.

The witch promptly ignored the look of surprise on the man's face, but he didn't dare to question her, should it cause her to suddenly change her mind.

"Atari Walter?" Hana called out, putting two huge bags on the counter that made Hermione wonder what in the world he had ordered.

"Well, let's go then, shall we? I will help you find a hotel so you can stay there a few days and we will talk tomorrow."

With a heavy sigh, Hermione got up and followed the man with heavy steps. She offered to carry one of the heavy bags, but the man dismissed it. The witch couldn't help but notice that he carried the heavy bags with a posture that implied a lot more strength then one would expect from the man.

Interesting.

Whatever secret this Quillish Wammy had, she just hoped that her curiosity wouldn't drag her into it as well.

Curiosity killing the cat, and all that. And Hermione was still planning to get back home.

As they exited the bakery with a polite goodbye to Hana, Hermione started to notice that the world started to spin around her. Actually, not only was it spinning, it was also getting heavier. Her legs were suddenly feeling a lot weaker than a few minutes ago and her limp made it difficult to walk.

It seemed that she had met her breaking point. The travel to this dimension had taken more of a toll on her than she liked to admit. Still, Hermione stubbornly continued to follow the man when they neared a very familiar car. She winched slightly as the memory of her hitting the car flashed in front of her eyes. She paused for a moment, breathed out and moved towards the back seat.

"Sit next to me in the front." Walter called out to her.

Hermione was barely listening to him anymore as it was suddenly clear that she had just gone over her limit. The witch swayed on her feet.

"Walter?" She managed weakly, drawing attention to herself. "I think that I'm going to fai-"

The witch wasn't even able to finish the sentence as her legs stopped supporting her. Hey eyes widened slightly in surprise as she felt herself lean back, gravity taking control of her. She desperately tried to regain her balance, but her attempt was futile.

Her head rolled back slightly and she suddenly felt herself being caught just before she hit the ground. Having lost orientation and focus, she blinked in confusion as she still saw a blurrily Walter standing in front of her. She absently noticed that lean but strong arms made sure that she didn't touch the ground.

"Who?" She slurred in panic. Her survival instincts took over and with tiny burst of magic her head snapped towards the face of the stranger that had caught her. Her eyes widened in surprise as they met two large dark eyes, studying her with such coolness that she nearly shivered. They were boring into her with such an intensity that made her wonder if his stranger was able to use _Legilimency_ as well.

Hermione wasn't sure if it had been the spurt of magic, her panic or something in the man's eyes that connected her to Walter's memory, but she suddenly had a very strong suspicion that this person was perhaps the detective.

Not even a second later, her eyes rolled back. Her body went limp and she allowed herself to relax in the firm grip that the stranger had on him.

"Walter?" A low monotonous voice questioned the gentleman, sounding nearly bored. "I am to assume that this woman was the reason for your delay?" The male voice continued.

Quillish didn't even pause to help his charge with the now unconsciousness young woman. As he carefully checked her pulse and eyes, the young man in front of him stared at the woman rather oddly. He was probably unsure of how to handle this. He had caught her by an instinct that he hadn't needed to use in a long time.

His status of being a famous detective contributed enormously to this, not being used to reacting to other people, causing the so called 'L' to be surprised by his own reaction.

It felt oddly satisfying.

"You told me that you were going to wait in the car." Watari told him, not even bothering to answer the question that the detective already knew the answer to.

"My curiosity was peaked when you remained five whole minutes longer than usual." The young man absently explained, as he gladly allowed his old friend to help pick the girl up from his arms to carry her to the expensive car.

"You were spying on us." His old friend said with a sigh.

It wasn't even a question, which made the detective wonder if Watari had spotted him in some way. The man was one of the very – very – few people who knew most of his tricks after all.

"I disagree. I was merely checking up on you and found you talking to the girl that we had hit before." He deflected the accusation with a bored drawl, but Watari didn't seem even offended.

If anything, the corner of his lips curled up at the statement.

A minute later they drove away, the mysterious girl secure in the backseats of the car, right next to the oddly sitting detective that was openly studying her now that he had the chance. He took in her obviously wet attire, Watari's cloak and the odd bag that she carried with her. He tried to open the bag – just to find an form of identification of course - but for some reason he was unable to open the ugly thing.

After a few minutes of trying - first gently before tugging more fimly - and failing to open the small bag L decided to let it go for now.

Just for now, seeing as Watari was surely keeping an eye on him.

Still, L's interest had been caught by the woman and he thought back to the part of the conversation that he had been able to catch through the use of lip-reading. The story sounded plausible to him. He might have to confront her later.

That is, if she remembered having seen him.

His eyes narrowed slightly as he remembered that the girl had an unexpected reaction of looking up at him. All the signs that she had showed had portrayed that she would faint and be unconsciousness just before he caught her. Seeing as he had been sure to stay out of her sight, she would have been unable to see him.

And now she had somehow glanced up at him with those dazed and confused eyes of hers. Normally L wouldn't have been troubled too much by this, but there had been _realisation_ in her eyes.

_What_ had she realised?

Just the fact that someone had caught her? Or was it more suspicious? That he was L? Was she linked to Kira? It were questions that automatically popped up in his head.

Would she remember him though?

That was the main variable that he had to work with. If she had seen him, she could be a danger with the current Kira threat. She might not have got a clue about his identity at the moment, but if she somehow found out, no matter how small the change was that she did. If she did not remember – they should be sure she didn't' though – then it wouldn't matter.

He would have to wait and see.

**~End Chapter~**

There is L! I always find it amusing how much people want him to join the game. So will she 'remember' him? Will she be able to keep up the façade of being a dumb young woman so that she can leave as quickly as possible?

That all in next chapter! I hope you enjoyed and I would love to hear from you!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary**: Harry Potter x Death Note: Hermione has always been seen as one of the brightest witches alive. She soon learns that even the brightest people have their bad moments. Ending up in a magic-less universe, where a deadly game is being played by a serial killer called Kira and a famous detective L, Hermione must try to find her way back to her own world. But, will she be able to prevent her curiosity and morals from letting her enter the game though?

**Beta**: Not yet, so please don't mind my mistakes. If you are interested in helping out, please let me know?

Dear readers, It has been a while, but her is the next chapter. I'm hoping to write the next chapter faster than this one, seeing as I'm starting to develop a vague story line in my head. In the meantime please let me know what you think and enjoy the new chapter!

**Chapter 4: Bad Impressions**

There is always that moment of half-awareness when someone wakes up – at least, when one doesn't snap awake from horrible nightmare. Hermione had enough experiences with both, seeing as the war had left enough marks to last a lifetime if she had anything to say about it.

During this moment of half-awareness, it didn't take her long to realize that she was feeling absolutely horrible.

Her head was pounding, the world was swirling. She felt cold, yet sweaty and sticky and 'urgh' at the same time.

The witch wanted nothing more than to slip back to the comfortable darkness. Yet, there was this thought in the back of her head – nagging her – that kept her from reaching her destination filled with comfortable dreams of her home.

Hermione didn't know where she was and that was something that needed to be solved. Her survival instincts refused to let her go back to sleep so eventually, she quietly waited to wake up more properly.

There was a short moment that she was able to ignore the fact that she felt unwell and she actually felt pretty comfortable under the warm covers that were drabbed over her. The bed was so soft that it reminded her of Hogwarts. Something told her that that was impossible though and soon after her mind reminded her of her current situation.

'I fainted and someone caught me…' She slowly realized but couldn't quite remember more than that at the moment.

_At least he didn't bring me to the hospital. _Hermione thought relieved, knowing that the hospital didn't have such soft beds and had different kind of sheets.

It put her mind to rest to know that she had avoided identification problems for now, but there were still things that she needed to find out.

_Like finding out where I am._

And why she was feeling so uncomfortable… like she was being watched.

So, with some difficulty – the witch hadn't felt so horrible ever since she had been a child and had had pneumonia - Hermione slowly opened her eyes. She groggily blinked to help her eyes adjust to the dim light that was being reflected in the wide onyx eyes that was staring at her, mere inches from her face. Her brain slowly registered this odd sight and she sleepily closed her eyes again. She then reached with her hand to her face, intending to rub some of the sleep out of her eyes.

Oh, she actually was being watched.

_Wait What? _Her brain finally quickly switched itself on, for once snapping itself out of its normal slow waking routine.

Her eyes sprung wide open, staring into the onyx eyes that were still staring at her - rather unblinkingly - following her every reaction. The two of them were frozen like that for a moment, just staring each other in the eyes, although Hermione had to blink from time to time.

She absently noted the dark rings under his eyes, the black strays of hair that fell nearly over his eyes, but most of all, she noted that his face was _far_ too close for her liking. Yet the witch couldn't help but continued to sit there frozen and dizzy. It felt as if moving was against a rule of an unspoken game they were playing. So she continued sitting there, yet leaning back as far as possible, staring back at those deep dark eyes.

As if she was caught under some weird spell.

The stranger suddenly broke the silence.

"Ruby." It was more a statement than a question, but the simple word was enough to startle her though.

And that was all that was needed to break the spell…

Hermione screamed.

The stranger startled at her sudden scream and moved almost automatically as he – somewhat gently – slapped his palm over her mouth.

"No need to yell." He stated calmly as the witch clawed at his hand, muffling angrily at him.

Who the hell did he think he was? What the hell was he trying to do? Question's sprang to her head, every thought not very reassuring.

"Imwhelwnthhellmwanm!" She snarled-actually-hummed at him, before trying to bite his hand.

He ignored it at first.

"If you will just be silent then I will rele-" He was interrupted by a somewhat painful bite at his palm.

He immediately let go after that, holding his hand to his chest protectively – while also seeming to feel somewhat disgusted by having her salvia on his hand. The witch felt pretty much the same of having touched his hand like that.

"That was unnecessary." He drawled, seemingly unfazed, while rubbing the hand off the bottom of his white long-sleeved shirt.

"Get away from me!" She yelled at him and moved back, wincing as her head complained against the sudden movement. Ignoring it to the best of her ability, she pushed herself as far away from the strange man as possible, causing the woman to nearly fall out of the king-size bed she had been sleeping on.

She felt the stranger grab her arm to prevent her from falling out, but she automatically and defensively pulled herself loose with minimum effort. She was experienced in such manner of self-defense. Though she was not quite as much experienced as with falling out of bed, which meant that…

That she hit the floor with a pained groan.

Ignoring the dizziness around her, the witch quickly crawled away from the man and stood up – automatically searching for her wand. Her hand lingered over her left arm as she rubbed it to sooth the pain from her fall. It was still attached and hidden in her magical wand holster on her arm. Every unspeakable was given one as an initiation gift.

Thank Merlin for her paranoia yesterday.

"Who the hell are you and where the hell am I?" She demanded, refusing to show the nervousness that was roaming through her even though she was far from defenseless.

The distance allowed her to get a proper view of her sort-of-somewhat assaulter.

The first word that popped up in her head upon seeing him was '_odd'. _

While she wasn't someone to use the word _freak, _she was sure that Ron would have called him that almost immediately– followed by 'pervert' and 'creep' for the stunt that he had just pulled. Hermione however, had the feeling that the man was just socially awkward or really arrogant, judged from the blank stare and puzzled stare that she was rewarded.

The young man had moved himself to the edge of the bed, looking at her with a wide-eyed but impassive expression. He had a mop of unruly black hair that seemed to go everywhere, making it look like it had a will of its own. Merlin, even Harry's hair wasn't that messy!

Though, what caught Hermione's attention was his dark and analyzing gaze. It was also hard not to notice the deep bags he had under his eyes. They made her wonder when he had been sleeping for the last time…

'Insomniac propably…' She easily deduced.

The man had yet to answer her question, but it seemed like he was ignoring it. Instead he moved from his deep crouch on the bed – that horrible pose of his might be a reason why he wore such baggy pants…- to stand on the ground with his… bare feet. The witch couldn't help but glance at his toes, which seemed slightly longer than average people she knew, as were his fingers. Piano fingers.

'He's _very_ odd.' She allowed herself to think.

All in all, his attitude and appearance seemed to clash with the prosperous and rich atmosphere the room had.

But most of all, even with all these mental notes about his appearance- it was his eyes that interested her the most. They were the blackest she had ever seen and they made her feel as if his gaze had captured her. It made the witch feel a bit defensive, yet, it also peaked her curiosity.

This insomniac somehow had captured her interest.

He was a puzzle to her too.

That was dangerous.

Not long after having recognized his eyes, a small whispering thought had reminded her of his presence the evening – if it was already morning that is – before. She didn't show any of this recognition though. Even though the wheels were spinning in her mind, utterly fascinated by the knowledge that this odd looking man…

Was the World's Most Famous and Infamous Super-detective L.

It excited and scared her at the same time.

She had to be very careful around him.

"Who are you?" She repeated, allowing to show a little of her nerves this time.

'Would he manipulate my feelings to know more about me?' She wondered, planning on testing him.

Wait…

Shit.

They would want to know who she was and where she came from. She didn't have any identification papers with her. Her bag would resist being opened by a muggle as well.

Plus, her lovely 'fake' story was so bad that she couldn't help but wonder what she had been thinking. She probably hadn't been. The fact that she was suffering from a concussion was no excuse for her.

Though other people would beg to differ.

"You better sit down Ruby." L drawled in a manner that reminded her somewhat of Snape – cold and uncaring of her presence.

It didn't fool her for a moment.

'He must have encountered my bag already.' She thought, annoyed.

So, as far as she could tell, the detective seemed to be interested in her presence too. Far too interested, she decided as the young man shuffled away from the bed without taking his eyes off her. It seemed to be a peace offering of some kind. He would keep his distance… for now.

She didn't move towards the bed though, preferring to have the distance they had right now. She crossed her arms defensively and frowned at him.

"Could you please answer my question?"

"I'm not repeating myself." He told her instead, fueling her frustration.

She stood there for a moment, but it was clear that the stubborn man was not going to bulge. He was more like Snape than just his looks it seemed. So with a huff, she walked towards the bed and sat down on the edge, stubbornly ignoring the swaying sensation that she had felt during walking over.

L didn't comment on the fact that she had sat down facing him and with as much distance between them as possible. Obviously, she was wary of him.

"Well?" She said after a moment of silence. "Could you please tell me who you are and where I am?"

Hermione was looking at him again, and she couldn't help but make eye contact. It didn't really scare her, but his lack of acknowledgement made her frown in annoyance.

"Really?" She huffed. "I'm not asking something unreasonable."

He ignored her talking and his weight switched to his right foot, the one that was closest to her.

'Is he going to approach me again?' Her mind immediately alerted her of the body language.

The frown that Hermione was giving him was slowly changing into a glare. She felt horrible damn it, was it really too much to ask for some simple answers? Why was he testing her like that?

He slightly cocked his head at the slight change in her facial expression and actually took a step forward.

Hermione doubled the glare.

L paused, but seemed to double the intensity of his stare instead.

The witch mentally groaned.

"Ryuuza-"

Their silent conversation was interrupted when 'Walter Atari' – aka Wammy, she absently reminded herself - entered the room, before he halted in his tracks, leaving the name unfinished. He looked at both of us, seemingly a little surprised.

"Mr. Atari!" Hermione exclaimed happily, not really caring that she sounded relieved at his arrival.

He turned and smiled warmly at her, before glancing at the young man looking somewhat disgruntled at having been interrupted.

"Ah, Miss Ruby. I'm surprised that you are awake so quickly. It has only been one and a half hour."

"Really?" The witch couldn't help but ask, surprised as well. "Oh… It felt like I slept longer."

She hadn't slept in such short intervals since the Horcrux Hunt, though maybe her paranoia was rearing its head again. Or she had felt L's presence staring at her after all… Hermoine mused as her eyes flickered towards the detective. She shrugged it off though. 'It isn't important.'

Other matters though, were.

"Where am I?"

Wammy paused for a moment, looking at both of us. A strange gleam appeared in his eyes before elder man fully stepped into the bedroom. A strawberry cake appeared from behind the door, where it had been first blocked from our view. In the corner of the witch's eyes, she saw the Insomniac perk up a little at the sight of the cake, and he finally took his attention off her. She saw him stretch out his arm and noted the slightly chewed thumb and she couldn't help but frown at the visible bad habit.

Not to mention that horrible haunch in his back!

'Walter' complied with the silent request of the black-haired male and handed him the cake and a fork. Meanwhile, Hermione slowly stood up again, which immediately caught the attention of both parties.

"Ruby, please lie back down on the bed. You have hit your head quite hard." The older man advised, slightly concerned.

Hermione could feel the onyx eyes on her again, and she tried my hardest to ignore him. _Don't start glaring… No need to start glaring._

She felt horrible and really felt like sleeping as well, but she was done listening to their concern. She wanted some answers.

"Where am I?" She asked again, more angrily this time.

"You are at the Teito Hotel." The older man answered kindly while calmly approaching her.

"Now, please. Just lie back down."

His presence didn't feel threatening at all and she finally allowed herself to be guided back under the blanket, though she kept a wary eye on the detective to make sure that he kept his distance.

'Teito Hotel…' She repeated with in her head with a tone off surprise.

It had been in the guide that she had been given with all the tourist information. It was one of the most expensive hotels out there, though knowing who they were, it shouldn't be that odd. At least, it certainly explained the luxurious room.

"Isn't that a really expensive hotel?" She asked lamely, trying to remind herself not to show them her true knowledge and intelligence– as far as she was still able to with that suspicious and paranoid detective around. "I saw some kind of picture in the booklet."

"That's the one." The grandfatherly figure agreed and patted her shoulder reassuringly. She hummed and let her eyes droop slightly, not sure what to do anymore.

Hermione felt horrible, yet she would have to leave soon. They were far too observant to be around. There were far too many holes in her story… She would have to slip away or something. Though, they were so kind. Even though L was seriously creepy with his ignorance of someone's personal space. She had yet to spot any malicious attitude from him. Plus he was _interesting_…

"I'm sorry." The witch told Watari before she really could help herself as he gently prodded her head.

She felt so tired. Was she collapsing?

"For what?" The man asked kindly, a thoughtful glint in his eye that alerted her that he was more like Dumbledore than she might have thought.

Well that was somewhat awkward.

She let out a faint chuckle when she realized that she was stuck with a somewhat familiar to Dumbledore and Snape. Was it usual for people like them to stick together like that?

"I just didn't mean to intrude. I must be sleeping in someone's bed." She eventually told with a sigh, realizing how warm she was when he placed a cooling pad on her head.

She hummed in appreciation.

Was she actually running a fever? Was this the whole transportation-to-another-world catching up with her?

"It's no problem." The man reassured her. "We have another bedroom that we can use."

She nodded slowly, before she mentally moved onto the next important point.

"Where is my bag?" She mumbled.

"It's in the other room. We will keep it safe." The detective reassured her with a drawl, which earned him a frown from her.

"Can I have it back right now? I prefer to keep it in my sight. It's very important to me." She allowed afterwards and felt somewhat victorious when she saw the detective sigh at the look that Wammy was giving him.

"I will get it in a moment." The older man told her.

He turned to his charge and gave him a pointed look and mouthed 'behave', before he stood up. The detective didn't answer him, but seemed to sulk in acknowledgement. After a few minutes of awkward silence, he approached the bed and crouched down on top of it at the other side, giving her enough distance that she couldn't complain.

"So can you tell us your last name?" He drawled, a interested glint in his eyes that made the witch uncomfortable.

The witch didn't have to hide tension that build up in her shoulders and she looked at him with wariness.

"Why do you want to know?"

"Why don't you want to tell me?" He countered easily, facing her directly to study her reactions easily.

Was he interrogating her already? Hermione couldn't help but sigh at her predicament.

"Hell, you could be Kira for all that I know." She reflected, refusing to back down even though her original plan had been to avoid these kind of interesting conversations.

There was a tiny twitch of the lips at that accusation that Hermione nearly hadn't caught.

"So you are a c-"

"I'm not a criminal or anything like that." She cut him off, earning a flash of annoyance in his eyes.

She groaned and rubbed her head, wishing that she could just go back to sleep. "I'm just stuck in this incredibly sucky situation and feel absolutely paranoid with this whole battle of Kira going on around here. I don't want to have anything to do with it." She said, closing her eyes for a moment.

When she opened them, she froze.

He was right there in front of her again, leaning over in some kind of intimidation tactic. Invading her personal space… again. She growled mentally. She wasn't afraid of being close to a man like that – she had lived with boys surrounding her like that for years – but that didn't take away the discomfort.

"Battle of Kira huh? And why would we have anything to do with it?" He challenged her.

Argh really?

Hermione really hadn't mean anything like that! She wasn't even to try to hide her knowledge of him being L from him – she was just ignoring it. That was a safer tactic after all. If she were going to be worried about mentioning something Kira of L related in front of him, he would be alerted for sure. So she just looked at him, like she would look at Ron, doing something that irritated her.

"Yeah you know this criminal killer and what the hell do you mean by 'we have anything to do with it?' I don't get this at all. Stop nagging me please. I don't feel well and I might go as far as throwing up in a minute." She told him with some frustration, looking at the door in hope that Watari would come in at any moment.

The detective didn't answer her. Instead, he continued to stare at her as if she was a puzzle. She knew that she was one to him. He wouldn't have been able to find anything about her and he must have had little chance to experiment with the bag up until now. Something that she was now taking away from him as well.

Seriously… didn't he have to work on that Kira case of his?

The man was about to say something, but the door opened and the elder man entered the room with her precious bag in his hands. "There you go Miss."

"Thank you!" She cried with relief, not bothering to hide it and hugged it to her chest.

She pointedly ignored the raised eyebrow that Watari directed at L for sitting so close to her – he was probably more than aware that he was bothering her – and cleared his throat.

"Well, it's better to let you rest for a while. Please go back to sleep Miss Ruby. We will talk more in the morning. I'm pretty tired myself."

"Thank you Mr. Atari." She muttered, slipping her back under the blanket to keep it close.

"Walter is fine."

"Walter then." She nodded at him.

"Thank you for everything Walter." She told him sincerely once again, before turning to L and blinked at him.

"Ah, I still don't know who you are…" She said somewhat awkwardly.

He looked at her for a few seconds, before he looked away and slipped out of the room – closing the door behind him.

"Did I say something wrong?" She asked, not hiding the worry that she felt.

"Don't worry about it… he's just not very social." Walter reassured her, before walking to the door as well.

"I will check up on you in couple of hours. The bathroom is through the door on your left. " He pointed at it. "If there is anything you need, just call 1." He continued and pointed to the phone next to the bed. "I will come as soon as possible."

"Thank you."

"Sleep well."

"You as well."

The moment that the door closed, Hermione couldn't help but feel somewhat disorientated.

'We will talk in the morning,' Wammy's words repeated themselves in her head.

'What the hell am I going to do?'

Hermione groaned and buried her head under her blankets. She would just have to think… She had enough time. Well not enough… but she had some time before they would bother her. Also, she still had enough magic to do the things that she needed to do if it came to it. Even the less… moral ones. But would she really be able to push herself to do so?

Still, right now, It was more important to get safe – she really would have to forge some kind of identity – and undercover somehow. The witch would stay in Japan, seeing as she didn't want to leave the place were she had arrived from – maybe there was some kind of limit to the connection to her magic at home and she was _not_ going to risk breaking that - for a long while so it would be best to get comfortable.

As she tried to go back to sleep, a lot of worries plagued her and she couldn't help but feel like she had done something wrong to deserve this.

The only comfort was the tugging feeling at her core, to know that there was still a connection to her home. She curled into herself, keeping her bag close to her chest.

She was going to get back home, Hermione told herself. She had promised herself that she would do anything to get back home.

She had also promised herself some time ago that she would not overstep the fading line between doing what is necessary and what is easy. That was the difficulty. Was it really necessary to flee from them? To get away from the pair that reminded her so much of Snape and the Headmaster?

They knew too much already. She wouldn't be able to provide them with the answers they were looking for and that would only give her more trouble. Who knows, she would be arrested for having no identification… She wouldn't able to do anything in jail.

Yet, was she really ready to go as far as to erase memories of her existence from someone's mind again?

Hermione wasn't sure anymore.

**~ End Chapter ~**

What would you do?


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary**: Harry Potter x Death Note: Hermione has always been seen as one of the brightest witches alive. She soon learns that even the brightest people have their bad moments. Ending up in a magic-less universe, where a deadly game is being played by a serial killer called Kira and a famous detective L, Hermione must try to find her way back to her own world. But, will she be able to prevent her curiosity and morals from letting her enter the game though?

**Beta**: Not yet, so please don't mind my mistakes. If you are interested in helping out, please let me know?

Dear readers, It has been a while, but here is the next chapter. I hope that you guys are ready for some action, because there is just a little tiny bit of it in this chapter. ;)

Enjoy and I am looking forward to your reactions!

**Chapter 5: Best Actions**

**Next day ~ 11.00**

There are those moments in life, in which one has to make a decision that they absolutely despise making. It's not like killing someone or something quite that serious or bloody. It just involved a choice that one has a personal vendetta against.

A mistake in the past that had turned out so wrong…

And then you might go out and do it again.

It was exactly for this reason that Hermione didn't want to wake up that morning.

She didn't want to do this.

She hated doing this!

She nearly refused to do this again!

Nearly... because it really was the best choice for her to get out of this tight spot - excluding the whole ending up in an Alternative Universe of all things - as safely as possible

Though was it really? She couldn't help but question herself again.

There must have been countless of cameras out there that would show that she had been there. She couldn't mess with the detective's computers because he would _know_ and probably have proof by doing so.

Would erasing their memory backfire?

Probably! But what other choice did she have at the moment? But she still really didn't want to do this! She hated this feeling of hopelessness.

Her temper reached a limit and hand shot out from under the warm blankets that the witch was hiding under – though she would refuse to admit to this should she ever be confronted about it - and hit the wall with a loud 'thunk!'.

That hurt.

It didn't make her feel much better either. Not like the time that she had hit Malfoy right in the face. Oh, how she wished she could do that again...

She remembered the astonished expressions of Ron and Harry. That had made it even more satisfying.

Ever so slowly, a grin slipped on her lips, before she reminded herself again of the situation that she was in and it disappeared a second after.

Hermione groaned into her pillow that she had dragged along with her under the blankets. Damn it, she was now definitely awake.

She still felt horrible. That concussion was no joke, but she did feel a bit better than yesterday.

Her head had cleared just slightly, the pounding was slightly less painful and her eyes felt a little bit less heavy.

Though said weight was nothing compared to the weight that weighted on her shoulders knowing what actions she was mentally preparing herself to take.

Merlin, how was she going to figure this out?

She felt like crying, but she was more professional than that. Yes, she had to stop looking at this like it was personal.

Hermione didn't know those people. They probably weren't completely innocent themselves either, knowing what they did. Hell, they probably had a lot of blood on their hands. Maybe more justified blood... but her future actions were pretty justified too.

'Stop whining and get your gear on Granger.' She told herself angrily. 'You want to get home right? Those men have no right to know what is going on. They can't know about magic. It might mess up this whole universe. Who knows what they will do to study you? This is your problem and you are going to face this head on so you can get back to your home.'

She gritted her teeth. 'I'm not going to break my promise. I'm not going to ruin someone's life again without knowing that the plan really works. I can solve this differently damn it!' She yelled back.

'Well, I don't see any other options out there!'

'Argh!' She growled out and hid her head under the pillow.

She was a freaking Unspeakable, damn it. Of course, there must be another escape route.

Maybe it wasn't considered healthy that the witch was talking to herself like that, but Hermione didn't care.

'Escape route…'

Because, hidden under the blankets – away from those damn hidden differently-angled cameras tha were the reason why she probably couldn't _just_ erase their memories –there appeared a new determined glint in her eyes and her eyebrows furrowed fiercely.

She was not going to back down.

Hermione would figure this out.

Her magic, feeding off her emotions started acting up and she closed her eyes in meditation. It was probably going to take the whole day, but she would need a lot more magic for the events that followed her escape.

In another room, a lonely detective's eyes narrowed when the expensive and the best quality cameras' signal started malfunctioning.

There was something very _wrong_ about that girl.

**~ Half an hour later ~**

Watari was slightly worried with the girl's behavior. She had woken up when he had called her from a distance, but she had been very withdrawn. She even barely nodded her head when he asked her to eat something.

At least she had followed his order.

"Maybe it's better if we were to move you to a hosp-"

Her head turned to him a little more energetically. "No Hospital." She drawled with such conviction that the sudden change startled Watari.

Her eyes became slightly more focused and she smiled slightly at Watari.

"I'm sorry Walter, I'm just feeling tired and I'm trying to meditate so that I can get better faster." Ruby told him earnestly.

Watari nodded slowly. " I see…"

At least, he thought he somewhat understood. He had never really seen anyone attempt this ever before. L might have done something similar – but he was barely ever ill… and probably wouldn't admit to it anyway.

"I will bring you something to eat and to drink every couple of hours and leave you too it then. But I would like to talk to you soon." He told her as he took away the plate that she had barely touched.

"At dinner?" She offered, not bothered by his polite demand.

"Alright." He allowed and watched with interest as she nodded, took one last sip from her juice and then returned to her fetal pose on the bed.

What an odd girl.

Though, Watari decided as he pushed a small cart with deserts into a dark room and glanced at the hunched-over insomniac and sweet-consuming figure that was his charge, it wasn't like he didn't have experience with even odder people anyway...

**~ Five hours hours later ~**

"You understand L, that the FBI revokes all its support from the case after these deaths…" The voice of the Head of the FBI seemed heavy and tired through the intercom.

L was pretty sure that the man had a fierce headache.

"I understand."

The detective did understand. It was human nature after all. Yet, the young man also still couldn't help but wonder why the FBI wouldn't want to catch Kira even more than ever. It shows just how much fear can do to people.

All the FBI agents shadowing his suspects had been killed….

He gritted his teeth as the call ended and then glanced at the second laptop on his right. The cameras in Ruby's room were still malfunctioning and he couldn't figure out what was going on.

Still, he was pretty sure by now that she wasn't Kira, but he still wanted to keep an eye on her. She might as well have a part of his own survival in her hands, possibly knowing who he was.

Yet she had not shown any specific sign that he could persue or demand her to explain to him.

This was not a good day for him.

He let out a frustrated sigh as he slammed the second laptop shut. He couldn't allow himself to become distracted. Kira was taunting him, mocking him.

L refused to lose the upcoming battle.

Said detective didn't know that in another room, Hermione calmly opened her eyes – calm, objective and very calculating, a dangerous state that had taken a long time for her to be taught - and softly smiled.

**~ About an hours later ~**

"Miss Ruby? I'm coming in."

Watari knocked before he opened the door and glanced at the empty space at his side. He was somewhat surprised that his charge hadn't practically demanded to tag along to talk with the young woman.

Something must have happened. He would probably hear it as soon as he brought the man his next supply of sweets. For now, he would let him stew in his thoughts.

L didn't like being disturbed.

Watari calmly entered the room, even though their guest hadn't given any sign of being even awake. He opened the room and took a step forward as he saw the bulk hidden under the blankets.

'Doesn't the warmth become uncomfortable?' He couldn't help but wonder as he carefully studied the woman's figure.

His eyes narrowed.

The bulk was too small and shaped too squ-

"Oblivi-"

It had been the softest of whispers, nearly silent, but no matter his age, Watari's hearing was still perfect.

The older man whisked around and grasped the first thing that he could grasp, which was some fabric from a… red hood? His other hand immediately reached into his jacket, but another smaller yet fast hand stopped him from reaching with a technique that spoke of training.

His eyes locked into the calculating eyes of Ruby.

They were completely different from the sweet girl that he had met before. These eyes had seen a lot…

He was very familiar with eyes like hers.

"Who are you?" He demanded, mentally cursing the fact that the small alarm that he had placed in his mouth also seemed to be malfunctioning.

What device was she using to disrupt their signals? He had experimented with nearly everything and chosen the best. It must have been something new...

He tightened his grip on her cloak as something poked at his side.

"I'm not going to hurt you or that other guy." She stated firmly and Watari couldn't help but actually feel somewhat convinced. "I wished you had left me alone."

Walter was very familiar with psychology and human language. Just by looking at her it was clear to him that this girl was driven in a corner.

"We only want to help. What are you so afraid of?" He shushed her, relaxing his hand forcefully.

There was a flicker of doubt in her eyes, just for a moment, before the determination returned full force.

The girl's grip on his hand didn't loosen at all. She wasn't falling for his trick.

"I'm very thankful for your good care, but there are things that you are not ready for and can't know, Walter." She calmed him as she stared into his eyes. Her eyes felt captivating and he sneered.

"You don't know whom you are dealing with."

She smiled harmlessly at him for a moment, completely honest. "I don't care who you guys are. I have to go and you were planning to stop me, should I have decided to go right?"

Watari was pretty sure that it had been L's plan but didn't say anything.

Yet, even though he kept his face blank, Ruby nodded sadly. "I'm sorry."

Watari took a deep breath, adrenaline rushing through his body and flung himself to the left – away from the 'weapon' held against his side – and lashed out with his feet.

Ruby calmly stepped aside, as if she had seen everything coming all along. In reaction, her foot shot out and hooked itself around his foot that had remained on the ground and pulled.

Though he was old, Watari was not out of practice and quickly performed an odd backflip, attempting to hit her jaw. She easily evaded it and turned back on her feet. Wateri had enough experience with fighting to know that she had been trained for this.

His eyes flickered over her hands to find the weapon that she had been using, but it was gone. Looking at her eyes so was her cold expression. He blinked as he noticed himself staring at them again. The girl shook her head in turn.

"Shit." She muttered as she looked at him with a troubled expression. "You really don't deserve this. I really don't want to do this…"

"Then why are you doing it?" He tried to stall, but the small sad smile told her she was well aware of what she was doing.

"Because I _really_ can't stay."

Well… she did have a point there.

Ruby charged forward the moment that she saw him move for the pocket inside his jacket again. She blocked him again, but he managed to take out his weapon out of sleeve instread and easily took it off the safety with automatic reflexes. His eyes widened in surprise as the girl practically ran right into him even though he had a freaking gun in his hand!

He would have to shoot her in the leg if it actually came to it…

Watari hissed as his gun seemed to move out his hand in a way that he couldn't fight it and he landed on his back. She immediately backed off and gently kicked him away when he tried to get a grip on her cloak again.

He stared blankly at Ruby as she spared a glance to the door behind her, back to him, then to the window, before glancing down at him again.

The determination suddenly seemed to have returned twice-fold. It made him nervous. This girl was clearly not completely mentally stable.

"Please don't make me shoot you so keep your hands in front of you." She told him as he tried to retrieve another weapon from his sleeve.

"We can discuss this…" He tried glancing at the door behind her as well. Why wasn't that alarm-transmitter working? Where was L?

"We could…"She agreed as she raised her hand. "but it seems that I have to go for plan B."

Watari's eyes widened.

_Bang! Bang!_

**~ L ~**

L had already been alerted by the change of his usual strict routine that something was off. He still did not have his cake... Watari would at least have warned him if there was any delay.

Was something wrong with Ruby?

To his frustration, his second laptop still showed nothing but static, so that didn't help him. He slowly stood up and exited his room when-

_Bang! Bang!_

L was already running before he realized it. He turned around the corner, his mind spinning and his eyes widened as he saw Watari's prone form on the ground.

It took a second for him to realize that the man was still alive, that there was no blood and that he looked actually concerned. Concerned?

His gaze went to the other occupant – the culpit – in the room.

Shit.

The girl – who had the gun in her hand and therefor had presumably been the one who had fired the gunshots – stood on the ledge of the broken window.

The girl had shot the window in purpose to jump out of it? He had entered a very unstable situation...

"Ruby… please." Watari tried to calm her.

Said girl didn't look very comfortable with the danger that she was in but there was a sense of resignation that didn't make L doubt for a moment that she would really jump.

L silently took a step forward, but as she glanced back to Watari, she spotted him. He probably wouldn't be able to get to her in time if she were to jump. She didn't seem to like him much either, but he still had to try and change her mind.

"Why are you doing this?" He drawled.

She looked at him, though she kept a careful eye on Watari and chuckled softly.

"Because I'm weak like that." She said with a shrug. "I don't want to hurt you."

"Why would you hurt us?" L fished, buying time.

If he gave Watari enough time to prepare, the man would be able to get something out of his jacket that might sedate her.

Her eyes narrowed as she looked at him.

"I can't stay. I can't trust you two either. You don't understand. I have talked enough as it is. Goodbye." She glanced back, breathed out a shaky breath and leaned back out of the window.

She was ready to release her hold on the ledge.

"Ruby wait! If you don't want to hurt us, why would you jump?" Watari tried to reason.

She laughed at them, actually amused.

"You don't have to worry. I'm a ghost. Ghosts can't die." She eventually told them as she locked the gun again and threw it on the ground near the window.

Taking his change, L and Watari charged forward, but it was too late as Ruby had already pushed off and fell back, out of their reach.

L couldn't help but feel angry at the fear that he spotted in her eyes as she fell back, before he was forcefully pulled back by Watari.

His dark eyes saw her figure disappear down into the darkness and something in his chest twisted painfully.

"No..."

"We were too late my boy."

"Why?" He couldn't help but mutter. "How could all of this work out like that? There are too many coincidences…"

Watari didn't say anything. Instead, he slowly stood up and took out his phone. "We will clean up and relocate in twenty minutes." He told his charge before he could order the other way around.

L absently nodded, still repeating the odd shifts of distant emotions on the girls face before she jumped.

He heard Watari greet the someone politely on the phone.

"I would like to report a suicide…"

The sentence repeated itself a few times in L's head as the man left to room. Most likely to get to his equipment.

_"I would like to report a _suicide_…"_

L's eyes narrowed. 'Suicide.'

Was this _Kira's_ doing?

**~ In the meantime~**

'Oh Merlin, oh Merlin….' Hermione panicked slightly as she forcefully tried to get herself to calm down.

She hated flying.

She hated heights.

She despised falling from said heights!

Taking one more deep breath the witch forced herself to look down and to focus on the alley that she had spotted from her room earlier in the afternoon.

'Focus… Focus…' She forced herself to breath out slowly. 'You can't spent months practicing with Harry for you to suddenly fall to your death.'

Right. She could do this.

She kept her eyes into the direction that she wanted to go and then in the cover of the darkness, she twisted and disappeared.

And appeared more safely on the ground in the targeted alley a second later. She gasped for breath as she tumbled down on the ground. Her whole body trembled from the rush.

No matter how many she had practiced this with Harry – He and Ron had helped improving her necessary flying skills and they had figured that she would be less afraid of falling off a broom if she could safe herself – she always… always felt horrible.

Still, at the moment, she couldn't help but be grateful for all those awful hours of practice.

She had escaped.

Now came the more tricky part.

Actually faking her death…

"Me and my stupid moments of inspiration…" She groaned.

"I should have just obliviated them anyway…" She grumbled as she quickly changed some of her clothes from her purse and set out to stage her death.

Though maybe… just a tiny bit… secretly… she liked the challenge that she had given herself.

** ~ A couple of hours later ~**

Faking her death was easier than Hermione had ever thought. She had made sure that 'she' had coincidently fallen right into a dumpster, so that there was little cleaning that needed to be done.

Then a process had followed which mainly consisted of confounding people that came to look at her and eventually the medics that came to 'scrape her off the pavement'.

Well… maybe it was a little more work than that, but it was just as easy.

Hermione sipped on a cup of tea as she drew her hat a little more over her eyes. She had a place in mind where she could stay. Thanks to one of the bystanders, though he wouldn't really know.

Hermione would remain hidden there. After all, why the hell would the famous detective go search near a campus for a serial killer like Kira?

She didn't expect him to, which was great, seeing as she couldn't exactly escape Japan.

She would have to stay in the neighbourhood. At least in Tokyo, she decided. She didn't know how much distance she would be able to stretch her 'life-line' with the magic at her Home. Yet there was one simple rule that even magic seemed to generally stick to.

Once a lifeline was broken… it was broken.

There was no way that Hermione would dare to test something as valuable and vulnerable as her 'ticket' home.

So she would have to stay in Tokyo.

Posing as a exchange student of some kind would be most believable. She could even get some 'free money' that way.

She would have to start studying the language, but Hermione wasn't that worried. She would use some special maximum-concentration potions that she had left in her purse.

Though some would have suggested that she should use a translation spell of some kind, it was not the same. The translation spell did just as it said what it did: translating. It would move in two directions, but she would never know exactly what she was saying. It wasn't perfect either. There were many errors in the spell that consisted of odd constructions of sentences and the like.

Sure the spell was perfect for getting the general idea of what was someone was saying, but the rest was lacking. It was not efficient

And Hermione Granger didn't like things that weren't efficient.

She pointedly ignored the oh-so-efficient-escape plan that she had just pulled off.

It did't matter. She would do it the right way. It would probably be more convincing like that anyway.

The whole paper and identification thing could be easily solved. Hell, she was an Unspeakable. They were meant to become ghosts if there was ever a problem. During the war against Voldemort before her enrollment, it were the ghosts who had given Voldemort the most trouble.

Lily Potter had been one of the best.

She sighed, remembering Harry's expression when she had hinted about this fact – no one could ever talk about the Unspeakables outrights, seeing as they were... well... Unspeakables.

He had figured it out eventually. The hug that he had given her had told her enough. The tightening of said hug had given her enough clues about the fact that he was worried for her as well.

Damn it. He was so going to 'I told you so' Hermione when she came back.

The witch sighed again. She missed her friends so badly.

They would have been proud of her little stunt.

Anyway, so Hermione knew how to get her some 'valid' paperwork that would at least allow her to hide as long as she didn't get into too much trouble.

And as long as she wouldn't meet people like L again.

But then again…

She had had her bad luck for now right?

Right.

Hermione pointedly ignored the shiver that she felt run down her spine.

**~End Chapter~**

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